July 13, 2013

Red Sox vs. A's 

http://kidgreen-donna/blogspot.com

For my blog assignment this week, I chose to watch the Boston Red Sox versus the A's (Athletics). The game was just starting and I put it on mute. Having never watched a game with the sound off, it was amazing how you can just look at the players and audience and know how the game is going.

The non-verbal communicating I observed was frequent and obvious throughout the entire game. A batter came up to bat, rubbing his helmet, chewing gum, looking very stern and serious. He was clearly communicating to those in view, that he was intensely getting ready to hit the ball. When he struck out, he shook his head, tensed his body and frowned. The pitcher smiled at the same time, did a little skip and jumped up. The relationship between these two, clearly showed they were opposing teams and the pitcher was very happy to have struck out the unhappy batter.

When the camera was focused on the audience behind the plate, it was easy to observe many types and ages of people. There were two young boys sitting next to each other engaged in looking at something other than the  ball field. One boy would point and then they would both start laughing. Their relationship appeared to be close siblings or good friends. I noticed them smiling and chatting with each other throughout the entire game. Others were engaged in conversation-heads down, looking very serious. One lady had her arms crossed and appeared to be uncomfortable or cold. The woman sitting next to her did not look happy either. They appeared to not be having a good time at the game. My assumption was they may be a couple, who was having an argument and not happy to be there.

In addition, when a batter would hit a ball, you would see many people jump up and down, waving hats, mouths wide open and they appeared to be yelling as they smiled. One lady was dancing around and shaking a pom pom after a player hit a double.

After the 4th inning, I rewinded the game and turned on the sound. Most of what I had observed with no sound, still made sense. You could hear the crowd yelling for the players and screaming with excitement when certain players came up. When Papi from the Red Sox came up to bat, the crowd went crazy yelling and calling his name. I did not realize how excited everyone was about him coming up to bat, when I watched it with no sound on. The noise level was more prevalent than their non-verbal communication.

Overall, I really enjoyed comparing watching with sound and without. It really is amazing how much we communicate without even using words. My "aha" moment was how excited the crowd was that Papi was up to bat. Many across the stadium were yelling his name or "Red Sox". The noise level was very loud and I never even realized the excitement was so great until the volume was up.

Donna